Probably shouldn’t admit this, but I’d never visited Wrigley Field until this past week. It was pretty much what I’d expected, since I’d heard so much from friends who’ve spent a lot of time there — their descriptions of the park and its surroundings were rather accurate, though walking the ballpark’s neighborhood for yourself is a must.

I also learned about “springtime” Chicago weather. We went into a pub/restaurant at 11:30 a.m. (hey, our stomachs were on Eastern time, so it was really 12:30), came out an hour later and the temperature had dropped at least 10 degrees. Combined with the growing wind that was directly whipping into Section 228, a sweatshirt and throw-blanket became necessary souvenirs. Rookie mistake.

Anyway, the whole thing screams for a photo tour . . .

The bartender at Merkle’s, about 100 yards from Wrigley Field. Every bartender in Chicago looks like this. As he was pouring my second beer, without me asking, he looked at me and said, “Just shake me off when you need to.”My man.

Winter time in the first-base bleachers. Or at least it felt that way.

Everything in Chicago is so huge, it stuns your senses to realize how cozy everything is underneath the Wrigley bleachers, down where the concession area is. In keeping with the neighborhood theme, they even have guys selling tickets for a 50-50 drawing.

We moved into the sunshine after three innings, as far down the leftfield bleachers as possible. Gotta wonder, was it really necessary to wedge in this one lonely seat just because there was room? Could this possibly be the “timeout chair” for unruly fans?

A sign outside the ballpark. Unnecessary, I’d think, since Cubs fans have plenty of practice leaving a game quietly.

Did I mention the bartender?

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